I've been wondering about his Stealth design for a number of years. Man, am I glad that I didn't get involved in any of these places. I agree with Brad, "tell self never to get involved with a Stealth Theatre". It would be about impossible to do a decent EX Surround system in there. Acoustics may actually be pretty good though due to room shape, although this is so unconventional I'd never even consider it. Unless megabucks is spent on lenses and lamphouses I can well imagine focus is not too good either. Screens this deep sometimes require stops installed into the lenses to get any decent focus at all and this eats up alot of light.

I love the conduit work under the wall mount sound rack! Looks bent into place instead of being bent before putting in palce which is usually the thing you do. Ha! Also, the film running back to the platter directly across the floor, and these look to be unsealed concrete floors to me. A real dust zone and disaster zone going on all at once here guys. This place could probably use a 55 gallon drum of Film-Guard a month! All in all one of the dunbest ideas I've seen in ages. But then, people have been offered the Brooklyn bridge for purchase too.
Mark
P.S. Note the Cineplex Odeon insignias on the Super Highlites! Isn't there a Stealth insignia, or does the Air Force own that?

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With a curved screen, the distance from the projector to all areas of the screen are *about* the same, so focus is better (more even) from one side to the other. Some people also feel the picture gets a slight "3D" look.

Watching a deeply curved screen from the side can be disconcerting. Prespective gets all screwed up. This was one of the problems I had watching Cinerama.

Does anyone have a chart of optimal seating positions? I think it looks like a flattened oval? I'd like to overlay that on the corner screen plans and compare it to a coventional arrangement. I can think of a few theatres with corner screens that have been around for a while. I can't say that I cared for them.

Matte (gain=1) screens should be installed flat.

Uh-oh... If that's true, I know one place's that wrong...

Recall the original deep-curve Cinerama screens used narrow overlapping strips of screen material, each oriented to reflect the light to the audience, and not to the other side of the screen:
http://www.govst.edu/users/gaskrau/cinestage.html
http://www.cineramaadventure.com/seattlepreps.htm
http://www.weavervale.co.uk/onscreen/cinerama3.htm
http://www.villatheater.com/features/screen.html
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcr1.htm

Not necessarily true in a theatre situation where the screens are not truely matte...I have measured "matte" screens with as much as 30% gain. Even the ones that claim to have a gain nearly 1.0 have fall-off on the sides, even using the manufacturer's data...thus a very shallow curve with a "Matte-white" screen works (keep the screen to a scope curve or less...Schneider's "opitimum" radius program will not generally have a problem with the typical Matte-White theatre screen.

Steve

I say a slight (2X) is *good*, mostly for focus reasons. 2X does not seem deep enough to have reflections. Deep curve, yes. But not the small amount applied in your basic multiplex (which I assume would be the same used in this "Stealth Theater.") Keeping the throw distance the same would provide better focus, no?

A curved screen with the radius equal to the projection distance - so the distances from the projector to all areas of the screen would be closest to being about the same - is NOT an ideal focus situation. In fact it is a terrible focus situation.

A flat film plane will project in perfect focus ONLY onto a flat screen positioned without parallax. Image-to-lens distances must be proportional between source and projected images, the distance from the corner of the film image to the lens aperture is greater than from the center of the film image. With a flat screen these proportions are maintained. With a curved screen they are not. With uncorrected parallax they are not. IF a curved gate is used the situation gets worse.

Use a large black card or panel (e.g., about the size of a "one-sheet" movie poster) about ten feet from the screen to cast a shadow on the screen in a projected picture having lots of light scenes. Now get close to the screen and try to cast a shadow within the shadow of the card --- any light you see on the screen in the shadowed area is stray light that can degrade projected image contrast. Trace it to its' source --- exit signs, auditorium/aisle lighting, reflections from light colored walls or ceilings, or cross-reflections from the other side of the screen.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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